Mel Brown Interview Page 4

Jazz Monthly: Exactly.  Well, I must tell you that I have a special appreciation for the book for more than one reason, but one in particular is that I talk to musicians all the time that are really trying to get out there and we know how tough this business is.

MB:  Oh yeah.

Jazz Monthly:  And they are so sincere in looking for creative ways to get out there, to get their music into the hands of people that they want to hear it, and when I read this, I said “This is what I need,” and I must tell you that I will definitely use this book when talking to other people about how to get out there.

MB:  Oh, thank you so much.  I appreciate that, Smitty.

Jazz Monthly: Absolutely.

MB:  The book represents my first genuine effort to teach. The only thing that I feel more passionate about than music is teaching and sharing, and this book really does represent my first effort to legitimately teach.  I hope that someone could get the book and come away with more of their questions answered as opposed to coming away with more questions.  And the book is not meant to be a book that you read and then toss aside.  It’s definitely meant to be one that you can refer back to and check on things that you may be going through in your quest to get started being a professional player. It’s meant to be a reference of sorts and hopefully people will view it that way.  I’m hoping to get it into some colleges and get it into some real music educators’ hands.  This is the stuff they don’t teach you in school.  The word on the street is that when you graduate from music school, you may be able to play but you really have no clue how to get a gig.  Sadly, by and large that’s true.

Jazz Monthly:  Yeah, and this book talks about how to get a gig.  You describe what a demo is and whether to use a PC or Mac. 

MB:  Yes.  I highly recommend Macs.  A Mac is the machine that you can buy that really can do everything, and unfortunately a few people have asked “Well, what did Apple pay you to say that?”  They didn’t pay me anything.  I had to figure out a way back in ’95 to try to edit video on a laptop, and back then you couldn’t edit video on a laptop.  It wasn’t supported at that time.  I found a way on my Mac. This was really important because if you really are trying to learn how to do something on the computer and you’re not really computer savvy, the learning curve is significantly less on a Mac.  All the programs are integrated and work well together. On a PC you’ll have to shop around and finding a set of programs that work well together can be hit or miss. It’s a big task when you take on self-promoting and getting your digital life together as a musician and such.  These are huge tasks and one thing that can be a big discouragement is getting on the computer and not know why it’s doing something after you pushed the button.  (Both laugh.)  It can derail your effort fast, so I definitely recommend Macs because you can get it done on a Mac that day.

Jazz Monthly:  Yeah, man.  Now, the book.  How can people get it?

MB:  People can get it at my Web site, www.fromzerotosideman.com. I send those books out directly.  Those orders come directly to me.  But they can get it at any major retailer.  If you walk into any Barnes & Noble or any Borders and ask them if they have it, some of them may have it in stock but they’ll order it for you, too.  And you can obviously get it at every major online bookseller as well:  Target.com, Amazon.com.  Pretty much everybody has it.

Jazz Monthly:  Nice.

MB:  So the ones that come directly to me, I always put my demo in there as well.

Jazz Monthly: Oh, how cool.

MB:  So that people can see it.  It’s not included in the price or anything like that.  I just give them the demo so that they don’t have to e-mail me for it later.  In the book I say “If you want to see what my demo looks like, e-mail me and I’ll send it to you.”  I just look at it as part of my own self-promotion and publicity, so when someone orders a book directly from me, I slip my demo in there and a business card and off the book goes.

Jazz Monthly: Speaking of your demo, you just finished doing a feature in Bass Player Magazine which will come out in their September 08 issue, where you and your demo was well documented. I love that magazine.

MB:  Yes they‘re actually just reviewing the book, a feature will come later. As I mentioned earlier in our conversation, I was the first musician in the world to use a multimedia CD ROM to market myself.  I used it when I moved to L.A.  I wanted to showcase myself in a certain way using video because I’d done some television stuff and using audio because I’d played on some records.  I was on a Chuck Loeb record that was actually No. 1 called The Music Inside, and so I wanted to be able to show the best that I could do in one pop. My demo worked so well that it got covered in Bass Player Magazine.  I think the cover of the magazine said The Future of Bass.  So in my own book there’s a chapter called Make a Demo.  I feel like I made a demo that actually worked like a charm, so why not share that information and contribute to the future of our craft?  Now anybody could make a demo like this.  You could make it using any CD that you buy at Circuit City or Radio Shack or Best Buy and you can take advantage of this technology. Why not share that with people?  Let them know that it’s out there, give them an easy way to learn how to do it and give them a goal to use it so it has value to them.

Jazz Monthly:  Yeah, that’s very cool, man.  Wow.  Well, I tell ya, speaking of Bass Player Magazine, I have always admired the things that they do with that magazine.  They are very cutting edge in the features that they have in that magazine, and they know about all the wonderful stuff coming out, the stuff that is out there, and I really appreciate that magazine a whole lot.

MB:  They do a lot for the bass playing community in terms of staying up with popular trends.  A lot of people say pop music these days, Smitty, and there’s immediately a negative connotation, like “Oh, that stuff.”  Real serious musicians are like “Oh, God, turn that off.”  But these people are not doing anything different than what we did when we were young.  And they’re carrying the torch now. Bass Player Magazine has done a great job of keeping legitimate musicians in the spotlight and paying homage to our craft as bassists but also keeping the pulse of the street and what’s happening out there. That’s not an easy thing to do these days.  Kudos to them for doing a great job at that.

Jazz Monthly: Yes indeed.  I love that magazine.  And I think you hit it right on the head.  They are right out there with what’s happening now and what more does a musician want to know about more than what’s happening right now and what’s on the scene?

MB:  Well, sure.  I have a funny story, Smitty.  Well, it’s funny to me.  Michael Broening and I had gotten together one day and we were having wine. We laughed at the fact that on that George Benson & Al Jarreau record that our names weren’t in any of the advertisements. We saw only the biggest names, but the song that we worked on won. It’s a funny story because it’s true. Tying that in with Bass Player Magazine, they will put that guy in there that actually does a whole lot of stuff and you’d never know or hear of the guy from the record companies advertising or the mainstream media.  I’ve always kept a low profile on purpose.  I call it an industry profile.  People in the industry know who I am, but I’m not really so much into hyping myself to the public you know?  Bass Player really does have their finger on who’s around, and they know who’s doing it in the trenches. The writer that wrote the review for my book actually wrote the article about my demo, I think, wow, that must have been ten years ago, Smitty.  He knew everything that I’ve been doing lately. So they definitely follow up and keep in touch and they keep their finger on the pulse of what’s going on.

Jazz Monthly:  Right, and I think that’s why they’re so popular because they don’t let up.  I mean, they really put out there what’s happening and they are the real deal.  I mean, they put the real out there for everybody to see.

MB:  For sure.

Jazz Monthly:  Very cool, man, very cool.  Well, Mel, I must stay on top of all the fantastic things you’ve done and still doing.

MB:  (Both laugh.)  It looks like it’s going really good, plenty of projects coming in right now.

Jazz Monthly:  Exactly.  We’ve had a great time just kind of getting together here to talk.

MB:  Oh yeah.

Jazz Monthly: But that’s a cool thing.  But in spite of all of those things, this book, I think, is just a wonderful, wonderful thing that you have come up with and created, and I think the beautiful thing, too, is you did this for the right reasons and that’s why I think, too, it will be a hit with so many people across the country and perhaps around the world.

MB:  I hope so and that will be in no small part because of you helping me get the word out about the book, Smitty.  I can’t even thank you enough.  It’s one thing to follow Smooth Jazz and to follow the music but you actually contribute something to help it grow, which is important because all of us have seen our business and our industry shrink a little bit.

Jazz Monthly:  True, thank you.

MB:  And I think that all of us as musicians, artists and people in and around the industry, I think that we all need to take a minute and pay attention to our craft, to instill the right knowledge in people that want to become a part of our craft, and give them some real legitimate tools to go about it the right way.

Jazz Monthly: Yes indeed.

MB:  A lot of kids are coming up now that can’t go to music school because music is not offered in their elementary schools and by the time they’re adults, it’s past that stage where they would be interested in starting something like that.  So our business, our craft, and music in general is suffering because of it to a degree. But if all of us can sort of take a second and try to impart some genuinely well-placed knowledge in the right places, I think that we can still see our industry and our craft prosper because of it, and hopefully this book will do that.

Jazz Monthly: Well, I really think so and I think it’s great for you to say that.  Those were great words.  And I think this book represents knowledge, like you mentioned, and education.  It represents growth in the music world because here is where we start those new seedlings of artists that will continue to pass the torch and really perform well and recognize the responsibility of fantastic music.

MB:  Sure.  Well, I think that a lot of people—unfortunately, in our business I’ve met a few teachers in that way, Smitty, you know, they teach you just enough to where you need to come back for another lesson.  (Both laugh.) Everybody’s trying to survive, but I’m looking at this like my survival is contingent on there being an industry to survive in.

Jazz Monthly: True that.

MB:  And this book really does represent something that the interested musician, the ambitious musician can read and go straight out and do now.  These are things that you can implement in your life, you know, right now to make progress.  And you’ll see the results. I’m not a snake oil salesman – I’m giving you the real about making your career go.  The shortest distance between any two points is a straight line and this book is a straight line guiding a player from zero to success as a sideman in the music business.

Jazz Monthly:  Oh, man, that’s well put.  I couldn’t have said it any better.  That really sums it up right there because it’s so real world and it would be very difficult not to get it after reading this book.

MB:  That’s a great compliment.  I appreciate that.

Smitty:  Yes indeed.  Well, Mel, I thank you for spending some time with your boy to talk about this.

MB:  It’s all good, man.  Thank you.

Jazz Monthly: Representing the music industry with such a wonderful, wonderful tool, and I can say that you have truly given back with this fantastic book, and I thank you and applaud you for what you’re doing and wish you well in the coming years with this great book and with all the wonderful music that you’re associated with and all of the great artists out there along with you.

MB:  Thank you so much, Smitty, and I appreciate you taking the time to check me out and to lend a helping hand.

Jazz Monthly: My pleasure, all right we’ve been talking with the prolific, the incredible and amazing bassist, Mel Brown.  His great new book is called From Zero to Sideman in Five Steps.  You can get it at any bookstore, major book outlet, and from his Web site www.fromzerotosideman.com.  Mel, thanks again, my friend, and all the best to you.

MB:  Thank you, Smitty.  All the best to you too.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.fromzerotosideman.com  and www.melbrown.net  and www.myspace.com/melbrowngotbass and www.bassplayer.com